What you missed: Big summer stories at Nebraska

What you missed: Big summer stories at Nebraska

Chancellor Ronnie Green (at podium) gestures during the July 10 open house at the new University Health Center facility. The 107,000-square-foot facility is the new home to the University Health Center and the Lincoln division of the University of Nebraska Medical Center's nursing program.

Amid vacations, study-abroad trips, classes and other goings-on, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln continued to make headlines this summer. To help you catch up with recent news as the new semester begins, here's a list of the university's top summer headlines.

Patently outstanding

The University of Nebraska system was named among the world’s top 100 institutions for earning U.S. patents in 2017, with University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers named as inventors on 27 of the 37 patents received by the NU system. Dear Old Nebraska U also earned recognition as one of America’s Best Large Employers, coming in at No. 115 on the annual list from Forbes Magazine. Nebraska was one of three Big Ten universities to make the Forbes list.

Health matters

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Health Center received a new home in the form of a 107,000-square-foot facility that opened in July. Located near 19th and S streets, the facility jointly houses the University Health Center and the Lincoln site for UNMC’s College of Nursing. The center offers a variety of services to Nebraska faculty and staff, from dentistry and pharmacy to optometry and radiology.

‘Anna’ takes festival award

“Anna,” a 14-minute film researched, written and animated by Husker faculty, won the Best Animation award at the New Media Film Festival in July. The film tells the historically based story of an enslaved woman who survived a three-story leap in 1815 and won her freedom in court 17 years later.

Driving innovation

Nebraska Innovation Campus housed the state’s first self-driving shuttle in June and July, providing free rides to the public and soliciting feedback on the experience. Nebraska became one of the first Big Ten institutions – and among just a few universities nationally – to feature an autonomous shuttle system.

Closer to home

With support from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, faculty launched an initiative to curb homelessness among Nebraska’s youth and young adults. According to data collected by the state, more than 2,000 Nebraskans between the ages of 10 and 24 are homeless.

On the bike

In May, chemistry major John Borstelmann won the men’s national title at the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships in Colorado. And biochemistry major Chin Kiong Tee biked 4,500 miles from Baltimore to Portland, Oregon, to support the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults and honor his late father.

Shattering limits on hydrogen

Nebraska scientists broke through a 40-year-old theoretical ceiling on the amount of hydrogen that bacteria can produce via fermentation. The feat represents a breakthrough in the effort to scale up the sustainable production of clean-burning hydrogen for vehicles and heavy industry.